Friday, June 21, 2019 ~ LANGFORD
~ Mary Brooke, West Shore Voice News
The Pacific Football Club (Pacific FC) today June 21 officially announced their new training facility that is under construction in Langford. Completion is expected by year-end. It’s the largest of its kind in BC, with a development cost of $5 million.
Located on Kettle Lake Drive (just off West Shore Parkway near the Trans Canada Highway), the 55,000 sq ft facility will be a training space for the Pacific FC soccer team as well as being available for use on a rental basis by national level to youth level teams with athletes in multiple sports. Locally the space will be available for rental use by other local teams in rugby, lacrosse and baseball.
“We’re very excited about the new indoor training facility Pacific FC is building in Langford,” says Langford Mayor Stew Young. “Not only does this year-round venue add another artificial turf to our community, but it provides opportunities for youth, community groups and high performance teams to practice and compete at the next level no matter how bad the weather is.”
The full-sized field can be broken into smaller-size configurations as needed. Today at the fieldhouse site Langford Councillor Lanny Seaton suggested that events like trade shows are likely to happen there.
On the business side, it’s a partnership, says Mayor Young. “The fieldhouse building is owned by Pacific FC who will also operate the facility and cover those costs. It is being built on land leased from the City of Langford,” he told West Shore Voice News.
“We’re trying to grow soccer on the Island,” said Pacific FC president Josh Simpson. “We want to build the culture of soccer and how do you do that? You get facilities like this one. It’s going to make soccer fun.” Simpson adds: “We are leasing the land from Langford, but this facility is our own investment,” said Simpson, saying it’s an investment into the community. “We’re really excited about this.”
“We are doing the best things we can for the development of our players and to make a positive impact on the Island,” said Simpson.
Pacific FC CEO Rob Friend said today that it’s been a challenge “with lack of fields” for practice and training out of the wind and rain. He’s pleased with the largest multi-field facility in BC now being constructed right here in the west shore.
The ongoing partnership between the Canadian Premier League (CPL) club and the City of Langford was a key component behind the decision for the location. The facility is located near Langford Lake, in the Kettle Creek area within the broader Westhills development.
The Pacific FC team return home this weekend following a much-desired road victory — score was 2-1 against Valour FC of Winnipeg. Pacific FC will be hosting FC Edmonton this coming Sunday, June 23 at Westhills Stadium. Kickoff 3 pm PDT.
Founded in 2018, Pacific Football Club brings professional European-style football to Vancouver Island under the coaching leadership of professional international soccer player Michael Silberbauer who relocated to Vancouver Island from Denmark this year to be part of launching this new sport adventure in Langford.
Playing their first season out of a renovated, 6,000-seat Westhills Stadium in Langford (bleacher construction to be fully completed by late August), the club provides an outlet for Canadian soccer players to compete at the professional level of the sport on home soil.
The CPL has seven teams across Canada. The inaugural game for Pacific FC was on April 28, 2019.
Fans can enjoy the fast-paced, thrilling atmosphere of soccer up close at Westhills. Pacific FC season tickets available online. www.pacificfc.ca